Riding motorized vehicles, such as motorcycles, AWD vehicles, and small watercraft, is a popular form of transportation and entertainment. Families and friends often join together in the riding of such vehicles as leisure activity. Numerous groups and clubs have arisen which relate to the ownership and riding of motorized vehicles, and rallies and gatherings are held world-wide for owners of such vehicles.
One aspect of motorized vehicle ownership is the desire to present an attractive vehicle appearance. Numerous accessories and parts are sold for attachment and use with motorized vehicles to improve or change the appearance thereof. In particular, it is common for motorcycle owners to spend considerable effort and resources customizing one's motorcycle, thereby to present improved performance and a pleasing aesthetic appearance. An entire industry has developed around the appearance and customization of motorcycles, such as Harley-Davidson.RTM. motorcycles, a trademark of Harley-Davidson, Inc., 3700 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. 53208.
In particular, it is often desirable to provide a motorcycle fuel tank having a unique shape and/or design painted thereon. Such fuel tanks present an attractive and distinct variation on a standard motorcycle, and may become associated with the designer thereof. Because of the great deal of effort and resources expended in customizing such fuel tanks, and because of the cost and effort required to repair either a customized or standard motorcycle fuel tank, it is desirable to protect the forward surface of the fuel tank to prevent damage thereto. When a motorcycle is ridden, damaging objects such as stones, gravel, dirt, etc. may impact the forward surface of the fuel tank thereby scratching the painted design or denting the surface structure of the tank. Even when the motorcycle is not in motion, persons or objects may touch against the surface of the tank thereby causing such damage thereto.
It is desirable, therefore, to protect the surface of the fuel tank. Such protection is desirable regardless of whether the tank is a standard fuel tank or a customized design, given the cost and effort necessary to repair damage caused to a fuel tank's surface. When a motorcycle fuel tank is damaged, replacement costs can become burdensome, and repair or replacement costs multiply if the tank is damaged frequently. Further, repair of a dent or paint chip on a motorcycle fuel tank can require significant time in a repair shop, during which time the motorcycle is unavailable for use by the owner. Accordingly, protection for the surface of a motorized vehicle can be extremely beneficial to an owner thereof by saving repair expenses and minimizing down time of the vehicle.
In addition, it is desirable that such protection for a fuel tank also be aesthetically pleasing, in light of the focus on aesthetic appearances generally presented by motorcycle owners to their vehicles. It is known to provide a covering, or "bra", for the forward portion of an automobile, such as a sports car. Such coverings, often formed of dark or black leather or vinyl, provide an attractive and sporty appearance to the automobile. These coverings also serve the purpose of protecting the forward surface from damage caused by impacting objects. Automobile bra designs, however, are not adaptable to motorcycles or other motorized vehicles given the considerable differences in the structures of these types of vehicles.
In particular, the forward fuel tank surface of some types of motorized vehicles include an indented or inwardly directed central portion, thereby to create an outer expanded surface to either side of the central portion. Such a fuel tank design is common on motorcycles such as Harley-Davidson.RTM. motorcycles. In addition, a support structure or fork assembly may be attached near or to the central portion of the fuel tank, thereby to impede the attachment of a cover across the forward surface of the fuel tank, making the covering or protecting of this surface difficult to accomplish.
There have been some attempts at covering the surface of an exposed fuel tank. U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,549 to Biette shows a fuel tank cover which covers the top and sides of the fuel tank of a motorcycle. Biette's fuel tank cover includes an upper panel, two side panels, and a forward panel which includes a recess adapted to fit the motorcycle frame. The fuel tank cover includes an outside surface formed of a material such as vinyl or leather, and an inner shell formed of cotton or flannel to prevent scratching of the fuel tank surface. The fuel tank cover of Biette is intended to fit over and temporarily cover the entire exposed surface of a fuel tank during repair or maintenance work on the motorcycle. The Biette cover, however, does not appear to be otherwise securable to a motorcycle, such that the cover would likely not remain in place on the fuel tank while the motorcycle is ridden.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,380 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 385,232 to Thurm each show a motorcycle fuel tank cover which comprises a sheet of material adapted to cover a stock gas tank, thereby to modify the appearance of the size and shape of the tank. The cover is attachable to the fuel tank by the connectors and fasteners which secure the fuel tank in place on the motorcycle's support frame. Although the Thurm cover protects the fuel tank surface from damaging objects, it requires a degree of effort to remove the motorcycle's existing fasteners and connectors, to position the cover over the existing fuel tank while the existing fasteners and connectors are removed, and to reconnect the existing fasteners and connectors thereby to hold the cover and the fuel tank in place. Further, the Thurm cover is designed to entirely cover the fuel tank surface. If the motorcycle had already been equipped with a customized fuel tank, as discussed above, the Thurm cover would hide the existing shape and painted design of the fuel tank, for which considerable effort and resources had been expended.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,822 to Wolanski shows a tank pad, bra and/or skin that is manufactured from a magnetic sheet material thereby to be removably securable to a metallic motorcycle gas tank so as to protect the paint from abrasion and destructive elements. Installation of the Wolanski tank pad, however, requires that the user cut a magnetic sheet material to a desired shape and heat the material prior to engaging the pad with the fuel tank. This heating process is necessary to allow the magnetic material to conform to the contour of the fuel tank. These requirements may make installation of the pad difficult for some users. Further, the Wolanski tank pad is only useful with fuel tanks composed of a magnetically active metallic material, and would not be securable to fuel tanks composed of various types of resilient plastics, as are now becoming more common.
Accordingly, it can be seen that there remains a need to provide a new and improved motorized vehicle fuel tank protective device which is easily attachable to a fuel tank. In particular, there remains a need to provide a vehicle bra which is adapted for attachment to the forward portion of motorized vehicles, such as motorcycles, thereby to protect a forward surface thereof and provide an attractive appearance thereto. The present invention is directed to meeting these needs.